Following the Civil War, construction of the transcontinental railroad opened the West, ensured the elimination of the buffalo herds, forced Native American Indians onto reservations where the military provided food, and allowed rails to transport range-fattened cattle to eastern markets. The range cattle industry spread over the central and northern plains and became one of the most significant economic developments in late 19th century U.S. history. Within a decade, cattle was king, providing jobs for veterans, investment opportunities for foreign investors, markets for excess grain produced by improved farming methods, food for eastern industrial centers, and romantic visions of life in the West. Leggy Texas longhorns moved as far north as Canada to take advantage of open range grazing and lucrative government contracts, and these routes became known collectively as the Texas Trail. One route entered Wyoming near Cheyenne, headed north past Fort Laramie, Newcastle, Upton, into Moorcroft, and then west to northeast Wyoming. Travelers on the trail recalled being warned that from the Cheyenne River to Powder River there was likely no water, and they found that true in hot weather as the cattle suffered badly. Eventually, pioneers settled the open range, and poor business practices combined with harsh weather forced the cattle barons to change their ways. By 1888 the volume of cattle driven from Texas north to the open plains had dwindled, and by 1900 the drives had ceased altogether.